About a year ago, I started a yoga practice. I try to go a few times a week and I’m actually beginning to not hate it. Usually. I’m about as flexible as a 2×4 and heat makes me crabby. Otherwise it’s all good. I’ve written in the past about my ability to land in classes with the young, flexible, and beautiful crowd. It’s always a morale boost when that happens. (Insert sarcasm.)

Anyway, there are some yoga poses I’ve declared to be “not happening” poses. I’ve told myself I can’t do these poses. I say things such as, “My body just won’t go that way.” Or “I’m afraid of throwing my back out.” Or “I’m just not strong enough to do that.” Flying frog pose is one of those “not happening” poses. I’ll give you a minute to Google what flying frog looks like. Ridiculous, right? Who would even try that? Certainly not me.

So when the teacher leads the class to flying frog pose, I stay in a nice safe stretching pose. I don’t even attempt to do flying frog. Why would I? I’ve decided I can’t do it. Then one outrageous, ridiculous day, I decided to at least get into the beginning of flying frog pose. Needless to say I didn’t fly, or even lift one toe off the ground, but I got in the position and lived through it. No one laughed or pointed fingers at me. In fact, no one seemed to even care that I got in the position.

Learning to Fly

After that eventful day, I decided to just get into the prep position for frog pose. And at every single class that’s what I did. One day I was actually able to lift a toe. A few days later I lifted a whole foot and didn’t crash land on my face when I did so. Later, I was able to lift the other foot, but not both feet at the same time. Do you see the outrageousness in this? I’m almost doing flying frog pose! Then one day, with my very favorite yoga teacher watching, I actually get both feet off of the ground at the same time for about a mili-second. (That may be a slight exaggeration, but I’m not sure if there’s anything less than a mili-second).

I’m sure you’ve figured this out long before I did, but did you realize that you can’t ever do flying frog pose if you don’t try to do flying frog pose? Can you believe this insanity? One actually has to attempt something time and time again in order to possibly make it happen. I actually had to say to myself, “Maybe, possibly one day in your life you can do a mili-second (or less) version of flying frog pose.”

As you can imagine, this concept can be applied to doing everything and anything in your life. If you say you can’t do something, I can guarantee that you will not do it. If, however, you attempt to do it again and again, there is the strong possibility that one day you will do it. When I am flying my frog pose for over a milli-second, I will have someone take a picture of me doing so and I will share it with all of you. Until then, know that I am perfectly capable of doing flying frog pose at some time in the near future.

Love,

Lisa Kaplin Psy. D. PCC